Hardly ever does my sin affect only me.
I'm currently taking Progress of Redemption with Dr. McWilliams and loving it. The course focuses on how the Bible is put together selectively for one purpose: to explain how the earth is being filled with the glory of the Lord.
This week we are in the book of Joshua, and today we discussed the defeat at Ai and the sin of Achan in chapter 7. You probably know the story, but just a little recap: after God victoriously defeated Jericho, the Israelites went on to Ai, a city that did not look threatening in the least. Yet they were defeated. "Why?" Joshua asked.
Little did Joshua know that in one tribe, one clan and one household, there was one man who had disobeyed the Lord by stealing from Jericho. Achan's sin disgusted the Lord enough that he said, "I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you," (v. 12). The entire nation's well being was at stake, since the Lord was the one sustaining and protecting them on this journey. Because of Achan's sin, God did not go with them into the battle that day; they were defeated and lost men in the process.
Furthermore, Achan was stoned and burned that day, as well as his family. All that he had suffered and died because he chose to disobey God.
I pray that I would not think so individualistically and would truly understand the implications of my sin for my friends, family, the body of Christ and onlookers in the world.
Alex Dugas